Home Automation On The Cheap

[airbbb 0]

Purpose of starting this thread is to share ideas on where to source for good, cheap, non-close system (not tied to a certain protocol) home automation products. Should also consider if the phone/web interface is strictly controlled by the company or we can have alternatives.

There are USA brands like Wink, Smarthings, Belkin. But they seem expensive when you start adding up the nodes. eg, to have a really smart home capable of detecting your movements between rooms, i estimate you need:

• 1 motion sensors per room
• 2 motion sensor in living room
• 1 motion sensor in kitchen
• 1 motion sensor near toilet
• Main house door wifi enabled lock
• Gate wifi enabled lock
• Add up the nodes for wireless light of each room

it slowly snow balls to a $800-$1000 project.

Alternative is to get from Taobao but there are 2 issues. They may go bust and stop supporting the nodes (you pretty much screwed and have to overhaul). Then there is the plug pins not being compatible to Singapore sockets.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.372.W9zqnN&id=36999926761&ns=1#detail

http://www.belkin.com/us/F7C030-Belkin/p/P-F7C030/

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Home-Automation/Wink/N-5yc1vZc1jwZ1z0um34

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.255.41UZVb&id=36631132459&ns=1#detail

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3.w4002-8259645972.66.Yf9EiV&id=39580043457

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.jeHwda&id=40667954059&ns=1#detail

Edited September 12, 2014 by airbbb

[airbbb 0]

Those are expensive and deviates from thread topic. Z wave is also a hackable technology so it's not entirely secure.

[eVidaSmarthome 0]

Purpose of starting this thread is to share ideas on where to source for good, cheap, non-close system (not tied to a certain protocol) home automation products. Should also consider if the phone/web interface is strictly controlled by the company or we can have alternatives.

There are USA brands like Wink, Smarthings, Belkin. But they seem expensive when you start adding up the nodes. eg, to have a really smart home capable of detecting your movements between rooms, i estimate you need:

• 1 motion sensors per room
• 2 motion sensor in living room
• 1 motion sensor in kitchen
• 1 motion sensor near toilet
• Main house door wifi enabled lock
• Gate wifi enabled lock
• Add up the nodes for wireless light of each room

it slowly snow balls to a $800-$1000 project.

Alternative is to get from Taobao but there are 2 issues. They may go bust and stop supporting the nodes (you pretty much screwed and have to overhaul). Then there is the plug pins not being compatible to Singapore sockets.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.372.W9zqnN&id=36999926761&ns=1#detail

http://www.belkin.com/us/F7C030-Belkin/p/P-F7C030/

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Home-Automation/Wink/N-5yc1vZc1jwZ1z0um34

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.255.41UZVb&id=36631132459&ns=1#detail

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3.w4002-8259645972.66.Yf9EiV&id=39580043457

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.jeHwda&id=40667954059&ns=1#detail

Great links! I'm sure a notable amount of time was invested in sourcing for these devices. I believe you are mainly looking at lighting control, power socket control and a smart door lock. From the experience of a SmartHome System Integrator, you might want to consider these points of consideration before making your purchase:

Power rating and communication frequency

For smart home devices that are found on US shopping site such as The Home Depot, Amazon, Belkin US site, most of them follow the US 110V power rating and Industry Science Medicine (ISM) frequency band of 908MHz for wireless communication standard. Singapore's power rating is at 230V and the approved Short Range Device (SRD) frequency band by IDA is 868.42MHz. Unfortunately, failure to comply with these 2 standards means that these US smart gadgets cannot operate here in Singapore. Hence any home owner planning to DIY their smart home system have to be careful to find out the technical specifications of your device before making your purchase.

Consider the long-term time and efforts to maintain your smart home system. Spending $1,000 on a system which lasts 1-2 years + time to troubleshoot and replacement if any component spoils VERSUS $3,500 on a system which lasts 5-10 years smoothly

Depending on your individual needs and requirements, once you have decided on getting any smart home system, you would be "locked in" and your options are limited to the products compatible to this protocol if you plan to upgrade or expand your smart home system down the road. You may want to read the reviews of the product and consider the after-sales support by the brand you bought from.

Overtime, the more tech savvy owners would buy new stand-alone system (like Sonos, Netatmo, Livolo) to automate their home. Eventually they ended up with multiple apps to control their lights, Hi Fi, door lock, IP cameras separately. We have served a handful of clients who sought our help to integrate these various system together. For example, use Z-Wave app as a single platform to control Philips Hue Light, Sonos, and IP cameras. In some circumstances when Z-Wave gateway can integrate with 3 out of 4 system, our client has to re-invest a sum to change the last incompatible system to one which is Z-Wave compatible to have everything neatly controlled from one smartphone app.

So although you can save some money to DIY and plan for your automation system at the early stage of installation, any overlook in the technical compatibility and long-term ease of use might be an expensive mistake to rectify in the future.

For the home automation enthusiasts and IT geeks, it is definitely an interesting experience to customize your smart home. But if you need a fast and reliable solution, it is advisable to find a local smart home vendor to supply your devices or even complete the installation neatly. Feel free to PM me if any one needs more help/advice.